by Elise Alden
Blurb:
Despite my slutty reputation, I was technically a virgin at
eighteen. But it turns out all those sex-ed teachers aren’t just trying to
scare you. The faint positive on the budget pregnancy test sent me spinning,
moments before I was supposed to meet my snooty sister’s new fiancé.
Shaking hands with upper-crusty James was like downing a
triple shot of vodka. Dizzy with desire, confused by my body’s reaction, and
shocked by the possessiveness flashing in his eyes, I deceived him that night
and told the world at their wedding reception.
The truth?
I slept with my sister’s fiancé. Hot and sweaty, all night
long in a room so dark he couldn’t tell I wasn’t her.
The lie?
Said fiancé is the father of my child. The one I signed over
my rights to just before he was born.
That was seven years ago.
It’s time to come clean.
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Let's learn a little about Elise Alden:
First of all I’d like to thank Sue for featuring my novel, Hate To Love You, and for interviewing
me.
Booklover Sue: How did you get the
idea for Hate To Love You?
I was drinking margaritas with a few friends, talking about
our children and how we tell them off for fibbing. We got to discussing honesty
and deceit and what kind of lies are unforgivable. I said I could never forgive
someone for a lie that destroyed my life, no matter the circumstances. That’s
when my abrasive, straight talking heroine, Paisley, popped into my head and
told me to write her story and see if it changed my mind. Boy, did it ever!
Booklover Sue: What is your favorite
scene in your new release?
The ‘Vampire Sultan’s’ bridal suite, when James walks in and
sees Paisley, and then comforts her. It’s funny and sexy, and yet it’s also
heart-breaking and poignant. I cried
when I wrote it, feeling Paisley’s pain and hopelessness at James and
Caroline’s wedding. It made me more determined than ever to find them a ‘happy
ever after’.
Booklover Sue: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Funny thing is, I never dreamed of being a writer. On 3rd
January, 2012 I complained about not having anything to read and my husband
dared me to write my own book. Not being one to turn down a challenge, I got to
work and here I am, a few years and several novels later, still pinching myself
in disbelief!
Booklover Sue: What is your writing
process?
I need music, and plenty of it. As each novel progresses and
I get a feel for the tone and voice, I compile a soundtrack and stick to it until
the book is finished. Every day, as soon as I sit down in front of my MAC, I
click on my compilation and listen while I re-read what I wrote the day before.
Once that’s done I’m in ‘the zone’. Because I have to split myself between
editing my novels and writing my current projects, a specific CD immediately
transports me into whichever world I need to be in—whether it’s the novel I’m
working on with my editor, or the one I’m currently writing.
Booklover Sue: If you could be
anything BUT a writer, what would you be?
No hesitation, I would be a wedding planner. Stressful,
possibly, but nothing short of writing would fill me with more joy than helping
people celebrate the day they make that wonderful commitment.
Booklover Sue: What are some of your
all time favorite books?
I read in so many different genres that this question is a
difficult one to answer. For sweeping 17th Century romance with
gritty realism, Forever Amber by Kathleen
Winsor is my all time favourite. Another historical romance that gripped me
from the first sentence is M.M. Kaye’s The
Far Pavilions. Fun and
unforgettable, A Hitchhiker’s Guide to
the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, still makes me laugh. Anything by Juliet
Marillier will make me froth at the mouth, as will books by urban fantasy
writers, Ilona Andrews and Richelle Mead.
Booklover Sue: Do you have a genre
that you can see yourself writing in the future?
I love writing romance, but I’ve got a children’s adventure
series planned and a few YA novels inside my head—if I ever find the time to
get them onto the page.
Booklover Sue: What are you working
on now and when can we expect it to be available?
I’m working on my first space opera romance, Black Hole Bounty, which will be
released by Secret Cravings Publishing on August 19th under the pen name, Sienna Bronwyn. My second
contemporary romance with Carina Press Pitch
ImPerfect, will be available on October 20th.
Booklover Sue: What do you like to
do when you are not writing?
I play the piano, and my ambition is to master William
Bolcom’s ragtime classic, Graceful Ghost,
before I die. I’m nowhere near getting it right, so I guess that’s a good
thing.
Booklover Sue: What would you
consider a perfect date?
Setting doesn’t matter and neither does food or
entertainment. The look on his face, the nervous twitch in my lips, the
undeniable sense I want to get down and dirty. The electric connection that
tells me this is a man I want to spend more time with.
Booklover Sue: Top 3 things on your
bucket list?
I’d love to conquer my fear of heights—and chickens! Next on
my list would be a second honeymoon in Egypt. It seems pretty dangerous there
at the moment but I’ve always hankered after seeing the pyramids and swimming
in the Red Sea. Lastly, I would love to learn Mandarin. My great-grandfather
was from Beijing and we used to speak it together when I was little, but I’ve
since forgotten.
Booklover Sue: What is one
interesting fact about you that readers don’t know?
During university days in Rio de Janeiro I supplemented my
income by dancing salsa on stage with a band called Esencia Latina. I received
10% of the door charge, but it was enough to pay for a few books and maybe a
meal or two.
About the Author:
Who
am I?
I proudly admit it. I am a woman who
reads, writes and revels in romance. I’m no teenybopper but I’m young enough to
wear stilettos and notice a pair of muscular thighs. Butterflies make me happy
and I love ruined castles – the more remote the better. I carry my country’s
flag in my backpack in case I get the urge to wave something other than my
finger. People who don’t swear make me nervous and if they also don’t drink I
have been known to hyperventilate. I am unabashedly irreverent and by extension
I excel at profanity.
Recently, I was surrounded by
mid-life crises so I decided to have one of my own: I gave up my office job to
be a stay-at-home-mum, dreamer and writer of romance novels. Notice I did not
say cook, which comes as a relief to my family. I am wife to a man who urged me
to find my passion and has gone beyond the call of duty to allow me to pursue
it. He won’t iron though, but them’s the breaks.
What
do I write about?
Flawed people. I love creating them,
giving them conflicts and seeing what they do. I write stories about imperfect
people doing imperfect things, and those who are destined to love them. Some of
my characters are suffering or have suffered. Others are clueless or abrasive,
or sometimes lost. But none are whingers or see themselves as victims because
then I’d have to kill them off.
Warning: In my novels you won’t find
‘fade to black’ or chaste kisses with the odd, longing look. I write
sizzle-your-socks-off graphic nookie because I revel in reading it. Realistic,
gritty and sometimes funny sex. Passionate, with the vocabulary to match!
As Elise Alden I write contemporary
and historical romances. If you fancy taking a romantic whirl around space
opera or fantasy check out my other self, Sienna Bronwyn.
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